For some time the utmost confusion reigned on
deck. With eyes too dazzled to see, ears still ringing with the
frightful combination of unearthly sounds, faces splashed with floods of
sea water, and noses stifled with clouds of scalding steam, the crew of
the _Susquehanna_ could hardly realize that their marvellous escape by a
few feet from instant and certain destruction was an accomplished fact,
not a frightful dream. They were still engaged in trying to open their
eyes and to get the hot water out of their ears, when they suddenly
heard the trumpet voice of Captain Bloomsbury crying, as he stood half
dressed on the head of the cabin stairs:
"What's up, gentlemen? In heaven's name, what's up?"
The little Midshipman had been knocked flat by the concussion and
stunned by the uproar. But before any body else could reply, his voice
was heard, clear and sharp, piercing the din like an arrow:
"It's THEY, Captain! Didn't I tell you so?"
CHAPTER XXI.
NEWS FOR MARSTON!
In a few minutes, consciousness had restored order on board the
_Susquehanna_, but the excitement was as great as ever. They had escaped
by a hairsbreadth the terrible fate of being both burned and drowned
without a moment's warning, without a single soul being left alive to
tell the fatal tale; but on this neither officer nor man appeared to
bestow the slightest thought.
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